Fast Times at East High
by weaksauce
Summary: This is a collection of drabbles focused around Ryan and Troy. Most of them will probably be fluffy, funny or romantic in nature. Never too long, and generally just oneshots. TroyRyan MxM SLASH Tryan
1. Delicate Nature

_Hey all … this is where I'm going to be putting my drabbles about Troy and Ryan. Just short little stand-alone pieces that may or may not be related to one another. This is just kind of a creative outlet for myself. None of these will ever be too long, and will usually just be fluffly or humorous or … I don't know, romantic._

_This is just a way for me to get into the writing groove so I can continue to update "After the Music." But this should also be updated more frequently._

_Again, I hope you all enjoy! Read and review!!_

"Troy … I would never be caught dead in a place called The Smokin' Ox!" Ryan half-sighed, half-yelled in exasperation.

"Why not? I hear it's one of the best places to eat in town." Troy replied, equally as exasperated.

"Why not?" Ryan questioned as he threw his hands up. "Why not? Think about it." When Troy continued to stare blankly at him, he let out another frustrated sigh. "Look at me, Troy. Do I look like a person who would go to a place called The Smokin' Ox?"

Troy did a quick, yet thorough evaluation of his boyfriend. He was wearing black slacks and shiny black shoes, a black and white dressy shirt, and a hat that matched. Just one of his regular outfits.

"I still don't get it," Troy deadpanned.

"Ugh! Troy!" Ryan said. "The restaurant is an affront to the very delicacy of my nature!"

Troy started laughing as soon as Ryan was finished. Just a little chuckle at first, but it steadily grew until Troy had to hold his stomach because the laughter hurt too much. Tears were sliding down Troy's face.

"Right ... this coming from the guy who had a belching contest with his sister last night and made me judge," Troy couldn't hold it in. He just kept laughing.

Ryan blushed — and rightfully so — at the reminder of his uncouth actions the night prior. Then he just crossed his arms and glared indignantly at his boyfriend.

"Fine," Ryan started matter-of-factly. "No kissing for a week." With that, he spun on his heels and began walking away.

"What?!" Troy yelled after him. "Ryan … honestly, I was only kidding … Ryan?" And with that, Troy took off after his boyfriend.


	2. Cruelty

"I just don't understand it," Troy spoke in between several choked back sobs. "Why did he have to die?!"

He pillowed his face further into the firm chest next to him as comforting arms snaked around his sides to hold him still.

"He never did anything to anyone!" Troy was apparently moving through the mourning process rather quickly. First remorse, now anger. "Well, I guess that's wrong … but he tried to make it all better in the end …"

A hand came up to smooth his hair as he continued to cry. No one ever knew they could get such a strong reaction out of the usually held-together young man.

"I mean, he tried to put everything right and what did that get him?" Troy asked as he lifted his head to gaze into clear blue eyes that held all amounts of worry for him at the moment.

"Nothing!" he answered his own question. "Absolutely nothing. He got hit by a car for crying out loud!" Troy lowered his head again and continued to sob for several more minutes.

Finally, he felt a hand go under his chin to lift his gaze back up to the person next to him.

"Troy," Ryan spoke softly. "It's just a movie. You've seen it before and it always ends the same."

Troy choked back another sob as he thought of Ryan Phillipe getting killed over and over again and buried his head back into his boyfriend's chest.

"Do you understand now why I didn't want us to watch 'Cruel Intentions'?" Ryan asked.

Troy couldn't find the words right at the moment, but he nodded to show he understood.

Ryan sighed but kept his arm around his boyfriend. "Do you want to watch another movie where he doesn't die this time?"

It took several moments, but eventually Ryan could feel Troy's head nodding softly, but quickly. Ryan then got up from the couch, thinking to himself, 'Great, now I have to find another movie of his that doesn't suck … this should only take forever.'


	3. Point Scale

"I don't even understand why we're still dating!" Ryan yelled, hysteria consuming his voice.

"What?" Troy asked. "What are you talking about? Where did any of this come from?"

"Think about it, Troy," Ryan continued. "You are the school star. There isn't a girl in school who wants you and there isn't a guy here who doesn't want to be you. And then there's me …"

Ryan trailed off and Troy thought he meant Ryan's explanation was self-explanatory, but when Ryan looked back up at his boyfriend — was it boyfriend, or was it now ex? — he took a deep breath and plowed on.

"I'm … well, I'm a nobody. Most people only know me as Sharpay's brother, or the drama nerd. Why would you ever want to be with me? I mean, you're like a 340 and I'm only a 210 …" Ryan then trailed off again.

"Ryan," Troy began again, now holding onto his boyfriend's hand. "No one thinks you're just a … wait …" Then Troy's brain caught up with him and he realized how Ryan had ended his last statement.

"What are you talking about? I'm a 340? What does that mean?"

"It means," Ryan started, "that you're way out of my league, and dating me will only lead to your social downfall."

He then started rummaging around in his backpack and in a few seconds had produced a magazine that had been creased and folded due to much use.

"Look," Ryan said as he all but shoved the magazine in Troy's face.

As Troy began looking at a quiz that appeared to be filled out twice Ryan continued to explain, which was good, because Troy didn't understand what he was looking at.

"See, you're a brunette. That's like 40 points. Being blond is 60, and that is like the only area I outscore you, but that doesn't matter," Ryan said, explaining what Troy had come to understand was the scoring method for a quiz called _How Hot are You? Everything you wanted to know about what your friends really think of you._ "You have a great body, you play sports, you can sing and dance, you have tons of friends and you're sassy …"

"Sassy?" Troy cut Ryan off. "What are you even talking about?"

"The quiz, Troy," Ryan explained again. "You are, like, a way better person than I am, that's why I'm making this easier on you and ending things now."

Troy then understood. He took the magazine and threw it behind him, and before Ryan had a chance to protest, Troy had grabbed his boyfriend and brought him flush against his body.

"Ryan," Troy said as he looked directly at him. "You are an amazing person. You have a huge heart, you're creative and you're funny. But most importantly, I love you. And no stupid magazine quiz will ever change that."

Troy stopped any protest Ryan could think of by kissing his boyfriend. Soon the quiz was all forgotten.


	4. Secrets

"Ryan, what are you doing with that notebook?" Troy asked. Ryan had been carrying around that stupid, little notebook all day long, periodically opening it to write a few things down, then closing it again.

"Oh, this?" Ryan asked as he pointed to the notebook that was sitting on the couch beside him. "Nothing important, why?"

"Can I see what you've been writing in it?" Troy asked as he moved to snatch up the little spiral notebook.

Ryan reacted quickly, however, and had it in his hands before Troy could even get within reach. "No," he started, "It's … it's kind of private." Then he started to blush.

Troy noticed his boyfriend's blush, which made him even more curious about what was inside the offending book. Troy kept scooting closer to his boyfriend, not making a move for the notebook, but ready to enact his newly formed plan.

Before Ryan knew what hit him, Troy had him pinned against the couch with his hands above his head.

"Now," Troy began slowly and mock-seriously, "tell me what I want to know and nobody gets hurt."

When Ryan remained silent, Troy felt he had no other option that to begin administering his patented tickle-torture. Ryan was soon flailing around, laughing and trying to get his boyfriend off of him.

"F-fine! Ta-take it!" Ryan yelled as he threw his notebook across the room.

As soon as the book left Ryan's hands, Troy was up and rolling across the ground in a Mission: Impossible-esque move to retrieve the booklet. Troy immediately opened it up and began flipping through the pages, searching for whatever it was that Ryan was writing.

His face grew even more confused as he actually read what was inside the small book. He looked up at Ryan with a creased brow and asked: "What is all of this? It doesn't make any sense."

"They're clues," Ryan responded, his cheeks flaming even fiercer.

"Clues?" Troy asked, still confused.

"Yes, clues," Ryan said, now hiding his face behind a pillow. "I've been trying to figure out what Sharpay's dog has been doing when she leaves the house. She's been bringing back all kinds of garbage lately and it's a huge mess."

"Seriously?" Troy responded.

"Y-yes?" Ryan said, now thoroughly embarrassed at having his secret notebook found out.

Then, all of a sudden, Troy burst out in laughter. "You have got to stop watching _Veronica Mars._" Troy continued to laugh … until Ryan threw a pillow at him.


	5. Highlighter

They were sitting in a grassy area, Troy laid out on the ground soaking up the sun, in the abnormally temperate summer day while Ryan sat cross-legged with a textbook spread over his lap.

"Come on, Ry," Troy whined. "Put the book down and enjoy the great outdoors."

"I just have a few more pages to go over and then I can come over there and do whatever it is that you're doing," Ryan replied without looking up from his textbook, his highlighter gliding softly over several more important lines of the text.

"I'm not doing anything," Troy said as he put his arms behind his head. "That's what's so great about all of this."

Ryan finally looked up from his book to catch a glimpse of his boyfriend, shirtless, wearing khaki shots and aviator sunglasses, just sprawled out on the grass. Ryan then got a mischievous grin on his face and quietly set his book down, but keeping his highlighter in his hand.

The next thing Troy knew, he was being pounced by his boyfriend. A smile played across his lips, but he kept his eyes closed as he felt Ryan straddle his midsection.

"I knew you couldn't keep reading forever," Troy said, a smug grin now on his face.

Troy's eyes flew open when he felt a soft, yet moist feeling start moving over his chest. He raised his head from the grass upon which it had been resting to see what was going on. What he saw made him frown in confusion.

"What are you doing, Ry?" Troy asked.

"What does it look like?" Ryan rebutted as he lifted his highlighter from Troy's chest, where it had, moments ago, been lazily doodling across Troy's pectorals.

"It looks like you're drawing on me," Troy said with an un-amused tone.

"I'm just highlighting one of the important things about you," Ryan replied as he simply shrugged his shoulders.

"My chest?" Troy asked. "My chest is one of the most important things about me?"

Ryan giggled, then placed his hands over the area where he had just been doodling. "No, silly, it's what's beneath that means the most to me."

Troy continued to think for a moment, then grinned goofily as he cottoned on to what Ryan was saying.

"I love you, too," Troy replied as he reached up to bring Ryan's face closer to his for a brief, but heartfelt, kiss.

**AN – Okay … so that was total sap, but I couldn't help it. I've been reading for classes non-stop and I feel like my highlighter has become an extension of my arm. So what better thing to do than to write a drabble about it? Please read and review!**


	6. Bubble wrap

"Troy!" Ryan bellowed at his boyfriend from across the room. "If you don't stop doing that I am going to come over there and _make_ you stop!"

Troy looked up from his position on the floor, holding the bubble wrap in his hands. He had been engrossed in the movie playing across the television screen and hadn't even noticed that he was popping the packing material.

"Oh, sorry, babe," Troy said.

Several seconds later, Troy was once again staring at the TV set, unaware of what his hands were doing.

"Bolton!" Ryan exclaimed. Troy knew he was in trouble because of the last name thing. Ryan never called him that unless he was mad. "I sweat to all that is holy, if you keep distracting me from the movie I will come over there and show you pain like you have never known in your pathetic little life!"

Troy smiled mischievously to himself and popped one more plastic bubble.

The next thing he knew, Ryan had launched himself from his chair with a battle cry ringing from his chest. He had tackled Troy and was soon wrestling for control of the bubble wrap.

It was a well-known fact that Troy was much stronger than Ryan, but what Ryan lacked in strength, he made up for in chutzpah. Unfortunately for Ryan, chutzpah wasn't going to cut it for him today.

Several seconds after the battle had begun, Troy had Ryan flipped on his back, now at his boyfriend's mercy.

When Ryan was sure Troy was about to claim victory and gloat, Troy just leaned down and said, "I knew I'd be able to get you over here to cuddle with me without actually have to ask."

Then he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his boyfriend's lips.

"Next time you want to cuddle," Ryan said as he rolled his eyes after Troy had pulled away, "cut the bubble wrap and just start with the kiss."


	7. Speechless

It was safe to say that Troy had lost all words.

He had been sitting by the pool in Ryan Evan's backyard waiting for his boyfriend of two weeks to come join him for a nice afternoon swim.

Troy had never seen Ryan without his shirt on, not that he hadn't dreamt of seeing him with far less clothing, but he was going to take what he could get when he could get it.

But back to Troy's loss of all vocabulary.

Ryan had just walked through the sliding glass door leading to the back yard. He was wearing only a … well, Troy couldn't exactly tell, because Ryan had a towel slung around his hips. But that didn't stop Troy's jaw from dropping.

Ryan was hot. Not in the typical tanned-muscular-athletic-god kind of way, but in the pale-skinned, lightly toned, graceful beauty kind of way. Troy was thankful he was sitting so as to hide his — ahem — excitement.

The blond walked past Troy over to one of the lounge chairs. He proceeded to remove the towel from his waist and lay it on the chair.

What Troy saw made his jaw drop even further, if that was possible. Ryan was wearing an impossibly small, skimpy green Speedo. It really left nothing to the imagination.

Ryan turned around and gave Troy a small smirk before running and diving into the pool.

When he came back up, he wiped the water out of his eyes and moved the hair from his face. Then, when he caught sight of Troy, he smiled again and asked, "Are you going to come in, or am I going to have to swim all by myself?"

If there was one thing Troy wanted more than to see Ryan without his shirt on, it was to touch all that seemingly soft skin. Therefore, he needed no encouragement and jumped into the pool.

He made record time over to Ryan on the other end of the pool and proceeded to press him up against the side.

"Hmm," Ryan said. "Maybe next time we'll just have to forgo the swimsuit part of this."

Once again, Troy had lost all words. But that was okay, because what Troy wanted to do required no words. In fact, they were kind of a hindrance. And so Troy kept quiet as he leaned over and pressed his lips to Ryan's.


	8. Crack

Troy glared at his boyfriend from the doorway leading into the living room. He was doing it again. Even after he had sworn it off. He had promised Troy he would never do it again.

And here he was. Like a user getting his fix.

Troy could tell that Ryan knew he was breaking his word. The volume was down low, and at every slight sound Ryan would jump and click on the remote to change the channel on the television set.

"I thought you said you were going to quit," Troy said from his spot in the doorway.

Ryan meeped and jumped around on the couch to see Troy looking at him with a put upon expression. The blond boy blushed, and he could tell by his boyfriend's stance that he had done wrong.

"Troy, it's not what it looks like," Ryan said quickly, his eyes wide as saucers. "I was just channel surfing, I swear."

"Whatever, Ry," Troy said as he began approaching his boyfriend. "I've been watching you for the past 10 minutes."

Ryan's face went white. When Troy reached the couch, Ryan leaned over and grasped Troy's arm. "Please, Troy," he started. "It's just so addicting. I can't help it. I've tried staying away from it, I swear. But every time I pass the television set, it just taunts me, 'Ryan, come watch me. No one will know,'" he finished in only what Troy could assume was a spirit-voice imitation.

"It's only a TV show, Ry," Troy said, still not understanding.

"_Degrassi_ is more than just a TV show, Troy," Ryan said as he grabbed onto Troy even tighter. "It's like crack. I mean, I know it's an awful show. I know it. The acting is awful, the storylines are bad — but God help me, I just can't stop watching it!"

"Do you even hear what you're saying?" Troy asked. "This is ridiculous."

"I know that, Troy!" Ryan exclaimed. "I know! But where else am I going to find a show where all of a sudden a girl becomes a lesbian for a day and a high schooler gets propositioned for sex by a 40-year-old man while he's hitch-hiking in the country roads of Canada? WHERE?!"

Troy looked at his boyfriend. He was a mess. Something had to be done. "Can't we just watch something else?" Troy asked. "How about _The Little Mermaid_?"

It was going to be a long day.


	9. Ache

Ryan was standing in front of his locker. He didn't really have a purpose for being there. He actually didn't know why he was there at all. All he knew was that everything he found in his locker brought up some memory of Troy.

Troy Bolton. He was partially the reason why Ryan was so unfocused right now. They had been dating for three months and Ryan thought that everything had been going well. That is, up until last week.

It was last week that Troy started avoiding him. He wouldn't look Ryan in the eye, wouldn't return his phone calls. Hell, every time Ryan approached him, Troy found a way to leave without really saying anything.

It's not that Troy was afraid of people finding out they were dating. They had never hidden their relationship. Everyone knew. So, if it wasn't that, what was it? Ryan had no idea what was going on.

Ryan kept rummaging through his unusually messy locker. Under some papers he found a crumpled up shirt of Troy's. There was a large stain across the blue cotton. Ryan remembered they day he had put it there. It was about three weeks ago, and while the fact that the shirt was still there kind grossed Ryan out, the memory of how the stain got there still brought a smile to Ryan's face.

He leaned his head against the cool metal of his locker and let out a sigh. He turned his head, and his attention was caught by a picture he had taped to the inside of his locker door.

It had been taken on his and Troy's second date. They were smiling at the camera, Ryan's head lying on Troy's shoulder. The picture versions of them looked so happy. Like they would never experience the pure, unadulterated angst he was going through right now.

"What is going on?" he sighed to himself.

"Ry?" a voice asked from behind him. Ryan startled away from the locker and turned to see the person he had just been thinking of.

"What do you want, Troy," Ryan asked, keeping his gaze planted firmly on the floor.

"What?" Troy asked, genuinely confused. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" Ryan asked, turning back to his locker pulling the picture off the door and lying it on top of the mess on the inside. "You've been avoiding me all week long."

"About that," Troy started, taking a step closer to the blond. "I've been thinking about stuff, really important stuff. I just … I just couldn't say anything until I had figured it out."

"Well, I can't always just stand back and wait for you to figure all these things out," Ryan said, closing his locker door and slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Do you have any idea how much you've hurt me this last week? How much I've ached because I didn't know what you were thinking or why you were being so distant?"

At Troy's silent stare, he continued, "I can't deal with this anymore."

He turned and started to walk away, but was stopped by Troy's voice again.

"Ry! Wait! You can't leave, you … I didn't … I didn't mean to do any of that to you, I swear." Ryan had stopped, but he didn't turn around. He didn't want Troy to see the tears streaming down his face. But he did hear as Troy walked closer to his tense frame. He also felt as Troy placed a strong hand on his shoulder.

"The reason I've been avoiding you is because I was going through some things. Some really important things." He then used his hand to turn Ryan around. Ryan didn't put up any kind of a struggle.

"I love you," Troy whispered.

With those words, a floodgate was let loose in Ryan. He leaned forward and buried his head in Troy's chest and let out a long held sob.

"I do, Ry," Troy said. "I really do. That's why I was avoiding you. I needed time to sort through all of this, to make sure what I was feeling was the real deal. And I did."

Troy moved took his hand and lifted Ryan's face so that they were looking at each other. "I really do love you, Ry."

Ryan gave his boyfriend a watery smile. "Don't ever do that to me again, Troy," Ryan said as he wiped the tears away from his eyes. "I was so confused. I didn't know what was going on. If you ever need to think something out, all you have to do is talk to me. You can tell me anything."

"I know," Troy said, then leaned down to place a warm kiss on Ryan's lips.

"I really do love you," Troy whispered again against Ryan's lips.

"I know," Ryan said. "I do, too."

**A/N: So this one got a lot longer than I had intended, but I think it turned out okay. Let me know what you all think!**


	10. Snack

Ryan was sitting in front of the TV watching one of his favorite shows, "Flavor of Love: Charmed School."

It played to the lowest common denominator of society, Ryan knew that, but he couldn't help it. The show was amazing. This experience was only made better by the fact that he had a big bag of his favorite snack opened and in his lap.

Cheetos were quite possibly the best food ever created.

Even Troy, who detested this show, had decided to sit and watch with him. He hadn't even complained about anything. Life was good.

The reason Troy had not yet said anything about the show was because he was far too distracted by his boyfriend's eating habits.

Ryan was so enraptured by the show that he really wasn't even paying attention to how many cheetos were making it into his mouth versus the amount that were falling all around him.

That, and his fingers were covered in the bright orange powder indicative of any avid cheeto eater. Troy watched as Ryan's tongue flicked out around his fingers and licked up the flavoring.

Before Troy could even register what he was doing, he had grabbed a hold one of Ryan's hands and brought it to his mouth.

"What the …" Ryan yelped as he watched Troy's deft tongue encircle finger after finger and suck them into his mouth.

Now, Ryan was one to become totally engrossed in any given program, but right now, television be damned. This was hot.

Troy pulled his boyfriend's hand away from his mouth and licked his lips. The only word he muttered as he stared at his boyfriend was, "Delicious."

The next thing he knew, his arms were full of Ryan, the show completely forgotten.


	11. Photograph

Ryan sat in the center of his queen size bed, looking at some of the photographs that had been taken over the last year.

There were some from the trip to the water park they had over spring break. The one he was currently looking at showed a sopping wet Sharpay chasing after and equally wet Ryan. The memory made him laugh. Sharpay had been adamant about not going anywhere near the water. Ryan, noting the irony, had snuck up behind her, found a way to grab her off her seat and run them both into the big wave pool.

She had been furious. But it was worth it.

Ryan flipped through a few more. Some were from school, taken during lunch. Jason and Kelsi were staring at the camera in one. Jason had fries sticking out of his nose while Kelsi looked on, laughing.

Jason could be so gross sometimes.

The next photo made Ryan laugh out right. One day, during Mrs. Darbus' class, Chad had gotten the idea to challenge Sharpay to an arm wrestling match. Who knows why. The picture showed the two of them sitting on opposite ends of a table, locked in an eternal battle. The thing that made Ryan laugh was the fact that Sharpay had a look of pure determination on her face, while Chad looked a little bit worried. Ryan remembered the deal they had all struck after the match to never speak about the event ever again.

But that didn't mean Ryan couldn't flaunt around this photo.

After several more photos, he came across one that depicted Gabriella and him dancing in the middle of the football field. He didn't remember exactly what had spurred the dancing session, but he did remember that by the time they had finished, quite an audience had gathered around to watch them. This photo showed Gabriella twirling around a stationary Ryan. It was a great action shot.

The next photo made Ryan stop. The camera had been facing the sun, making it so that the overexposure caused a silhouetted outline of the two people featured in the snapshot. But he knew who they were. The two were facing each other, lightly grasping each other's hands while pressing a light kiss against one another's lips. It was cute. It actually looked like one of those stock photos from the picture frames you buy at department stores. Only this one would never be a stock photo. At least not anytime soon.

The two people kissing were both young men. Ryan and his boyfriend, to be more precise.

Ryan ran his fingers softly across the glossy paper before leaning across his bed and laying it on his nightstand. Just then, he heard the sound of a car horn from his driveway. His boyfriend was here. They were going to pick up their corsages for prom.

The horn honked again as Ryan went to pick up his jacket from the back of his desk chair. He laughed at his boyfriend's impatience.

"I'll be right down, Troy," he muttered to himself as he began running down the stairs. "No need to get your boxers in a bunch."


	12. Smile

Ryan opened his eyes as rays of sun poured through the window and tickled his nose. He closed them almost immediately. He stretched his legs, working the kinks out of his sleep-sore muscles.

His eyes snapped open again as the heel of his foot bumped into something that was decidedly not his bed sheets — too firm … and hairy.

He took a deep breath and then rolled over to face, well, he wasn't exactly sure, but he was going to face it.

Ryan braced himself, breathed in deeply and slowly lifted himself from the soft mattress. He slowly rotated his torso, followed by the lower half of his body. The more calculated his moves were, the less likely he was to wake the person sleeping next to him.

As soon as he took in the mop of dark brown hair, everything came back to him. Last night had been their first time. It had been perfect. Ryan knew — he _was_ sore in all the right places.

He smiled. His hand moved of its own volition and gently feathered the hair from the still-sleeping boy's face.

The gentle movement caused the brunette to begin moving slightly under the covers. Ryan pulled his hand back and waited for the inevitable. Slowly, the eyes of his bed mate opened, then closed, then opened again.

The crisp blue eyes soon focused on Ryan's face and the pink lips of his lover turned up in a smile.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," Ryan replied.

During their morning hellos, Ryan's hand had found it's way back to the sheets. And his bedmate's hand found it's way to Ryan's. Two lay there silently, just looking at one another. Taking in the post-coital appearances.

"Love you," Troy said.

"Love you, too," Ryan replied, laying back down, with his head resting on Troy's shoulder.

Then he smiled.


	13. Sweaty

Troy was frustrated. No, Troy was pissed.

He had been working on this stupid, ridiculous, idiotic dance move for the past two hours and he still could not get it.

Troy, the master athlete, the one who had led the East High Wildcats to two consecutive state championships, star of last year's winter musical — and all around good guy — could not get this one, tiny, miniscule, insignificant little dance move down. One move that could apparently either make or break the entire dance.

Sweat was dripping down his face. At the moment, a rather large drop was working its way down his nose. It wasn't really what someone might call Troy at his most attractive.

Troy inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself to try the move one more time. He closed his eyes, brought himself upright and wiped the sweat from his face. He began moving his feet once again in the pre-set step. And once again, he tripped himself up half way through.

His hands became fists as he gripped his pant legs and let a curse out under his breath.

"Swearing is not going to solve your problem, Troy," a voice off to the side said.

Troy had been so caught up in trying to get the move down that he didn't even realize he was being watched from the sidelines. He turned his head to find Ryan standing by the curtains on the stage. He just stared.

"Here," Ryan said as he began moving from his spot by the curtains to a more central location on the stage. "Let me help."

Troy gave out a non-committal grunt, but let Ryan come closer. Ryan stopped in front of the brunette and smiled. "Okay, put this leg here," Ryan said as he gently tapped one of Troy's legs. "And put this one like this," he finished indicating to Troy the proper placement of his other leg.

He then stepped back from the still-perspiring boy and said, "Okay. Go."

Troy stared back blankly, but then took another deep breath and prepared to move.

The dance step came off flawlessly.

"How did you know?" Troy asked.

"I'm just that good," Ryan replied with a smirk.

"Right," Troy said, then reached over to bring Ryan closer to him, and planted a big, fat, sloppy kiss on his boyfriends lips.

"Ew, Troy," Ryan whined. "You're still sweaty."


	14. Shirley Temple

"So," Troy began, putting the menu down on the table. "A Shirley Temple is just 7-up and grenadine?"

"Right," Ryan said as he set his water glass down in front of him. "And when you add vodka to it, they call it a Shirley Temple-Black."

Troy shook his head as if he understood, but in the middle of one of those nods, his brow furrowed and he looked questioningly over at his boyfriend. "Why would they call it that? It doesn't really make any sense."

"Well," Ryan started. It really was amazing how many little things Troy didn't know about. Ryan just chalked it up to the fact that he spent most of his life on one court or another throwing around balls big and small. "When Shirley Temple got married she took her husband's name, but kept her own, too, so she just changed her name to Shirley Temple-Black."

Troy still didn't look like he comprehended what his boyfriend was trying to explain, so Ryan continued. "When you add alcohol to a drink you're 'de-virginizing' it. When you get married you, more than likely, have sex with your significant other and are no longer a virgin. That's why they call it a Shirley Temple-Black." Ryan explained further.

"Oh," Troy said as comprehension dawned on him. "So if I ordered your favorite drink, we could just call it a Ryan Evans, but if we added alcohol to it we'd call it a Ryan Evans-Bolton?"

"We could," Ryan said, smiling. "But what makes you think I want to stick with you forever? I've got shit to do." The harshness of his words was lessened by the fact that he was holding Troy's hand and smiling the entire time.

"Well," Troy pointed out. "That ring on your finger sure says something about what your intentions are with me."

Ryan smiled and lifted his hand up to inspect the promise ring that Troy had given him just the other day for their anniversary. "Yeah," he said. "I guess I'm stuck with you. The ring says so."


	15. Costume

If anyone had told Ryan that his boyfriend could have been even half as picky as him when it came to picking out clothes, he would have laughed at them. He would have pointed and laughed.

And yet here he was, sitting on Troy's boyfriend as the brunette tried to pick out the best Halloween costume.

Apparently, Troy had raided the drama department's costume room and he was probably on his fifteenth costume pick, not being satisfied with anything yet.

He stepped back into his room from the bathroom, now wearing black pants, a white button down shirt, a black tie and a bike helmet. Ryan looked on in confusion.

"I'm supposed to be a Mormon," Troy said.

"Isn't that more offensive than funny?" Ryan asked.

Troy just rolled his eyes and went back into the bathroom. Ryan flung himself back on the bed and continued waiting for his boyfriend. He sat back up when he heard Troy shuffle back in the room.

"I'm an M&M," he said, gesturing to the big, red felt costume from which only his face was visible.

"Isn't that a little too third grade?" Ryan asked, then added. "Although the red tights do show off your legs."

He laughed as Troy sighed and turned to head back into the bathroom.

Maybe it wasn't Troy, but Ryan that was prolonging this whole experience. He then decided to end his own misery by vowing to stay silent when Troy next came into the bedroom.

Which, as it turned out, wasn't that hard for Ryan to do, considering his boyfriend walked into the room wearing a Tarzan-like loincloth. Ryan's mouth dropped. The outfit was cut high in the thighs and was very skimpy along the chest. It exposed all the best of the brunette's features.

Ryan might have started drooling, even though he would never admit to it.

Troy saw his boyfriend's reaction and smiled. "Then it's decided. I'm going to be Tarzan."

He then began walking over to Ryan, playfully flexing. Ryan was still staring, but then shook his head when a thought occurred to him. "Good," he said, then with a slight pause, added, "But I am _not_ dressing up as Jane."

"We'll see about that," Troy said, pouncing his boyfriend.


	16. Britney

Troy wasn't one to listen to Britney Spears. In fact, he could probably have lived a perfectly nice life without ever having heard one of her songs.

Ryan, on the other hand, was completely smitten with the pop diva and so Troy wasn't all that surprised when he found himself with Ryan at the store the day her newest album was released. He didn't even raise an eyebrow when Ryan had the CD case opened, booklet in his lap before Troy was able to buckle his seat belt after leaving the department store.

He let Ryan put the CD in the car's stereo and blast some of Britney's newest songs, and he did this all without letting his embarrassment show.

He was basically the best boyfriend ever.

Of course, there's something to be said for the dance moves that Britney's newest CD had inspired in his boyfriend. Ryan had described the album as "full of sex music." Troy couldn't really disagree. Especially while he was being treated to a private show by his boyfriend.

As soon as the two had arrived at Ryan's house, they had gone into the blond's room where he immediately put the CD in the stereo. Sharpay yelled down the hall and slammed her door, saying something about being ashamed to call Ryan her brother.

But it was probably all for the better considering the lap dance that Ryan was now giving him. It probably wasn't something Sharpay wanted to watch, and it wasn't exactly something Troy wanted her watching. Some might have called what was going on in Ryan's room scandalous.

They would have been correct.

As Ryan's pelvis thrust toward Troy once again, he couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, it was okay that he listened to Britney Spears.

Of course, when the song 'Get Naked' started playing and Ryan started doing just that, Britney Spears was the last thing on Troy's mind.


	17. Loathing

**A/N: You'll probably need a passing knowledge of **_**Wicked**_** to fully understand this drabble.**

"Did you ever imagine when we first met each other that we would fall in love one day?" Troy asked his boyfriend who was currently sitting cocooned within his arms on the leather couch in his living room.

"Honestly?" Ryan asked as he looked up into his Troy's stunning blue eyes. "I couldn't stand you when we first met. I couldn't even imagine us being friends let alone falling in love with you."

"Well, that's reassuring," Troy said, rolling his eyes and loosening his grip on Ryan.

"Oh, come on, baby," Ryan said, snuggling closer to the brunette. "Look where I am right now. Your arms, no one else's."

"You just said you hated me when we first me," Troy sighed. "How do you want me to feel?"

"Look at it this way," Ryan started, sitting more upright in Troy's lap. "It's like in Wicked. Glinda and Elpheba hated each other at first and then they became best friends. And they sang some songs in between. Just like us."

"Didn't they end up not being friends at the end?" Troy asked.

"Details, details," Ryan said, slumping back into Troy's lap. "The point I'm trying to make is that how we start is not always how we end up."

"Whatever you say," Troy agreed, wrapping his arms comfortably around his boyfriend once again. "But I call dibs on being the Glinda of this relationship."

Ryan shifted again, looking back up at Troy. "Are you saying I'm socially awkward and lacking in friends?"

"No," Troy said, laughing. "But you did used to follow your sister around a lot … and sometimes you wear silly hats."

Ryan's mouth gaped at his boyfriend before he crossed his arms and stared at his boyfriend with a grumpy pout. Troy just laughed and kissed the crown on Ryan's head.


	18. iPhone

"Ugh!" Troy exclaimed. "Will you put that stupid thing away already?"

Ryan turned to his boyfriend with a look of shock written across his face. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that ever since you got that stupid iPhone, it's become an extension of your body," Troy said, waiving his hands around. "You even got in trouble for having it out in class today. And you've got Mrs. Darbus wrapped around your little finger."

"Troy," Ryan said warningly, holding his iPhone closer to his chest as if protecting it. "Don't say things like that in front of it; you'll hurt its feelings."

"I just don't understand why you can't put it down for even one second," Troy said, on the verge of giving up his crusade against technology.

"How could I not not put it down?" Ryan asked, still cradling his phone.

"That doesn't even make sense," Troy replied.

"Troy, it's a phone," Ryan started, hoping that fact alone would be able to explain everything. Unfortunately Troy's blank stare let him know he would need to continue clarifying what made the iPhone so important. "I can check my email, I can surf the internet, it's also an iPod and I can check my stock portfolio, Troy. My stock portfolio!"

"Do you even own any stocks?" Troy asked.

"No," Ryan replied, "but that's not the point! Which is that if I did own stocks, I could check on them."

"Well," Troy said, kind of seeing Ryan's point, but still not wanting to admit to it. "I've still got something that the iPhone will never have."

"If it doesn't have it yet, it probably will with the next software update," Ryan said.

Troy just shook his head. It looked as though he would have to prove it to him. He took advantage of the fact that Ryan was still staring lovingly at his phone and pounced his boyfriend. Activities that followed could be loosely described as 'making out' but also involved a fair amount of groping.

When they eventually pulled apart from each other, Ryan looked at his boyfriend with glazed over eyes and said, "Okay, you have a point. I will never again assume that the iPhone, no matter how amazing it is, can take your place."

"That's all I ask," Troy said, leaning back down to kiss his boyfriend again.


	19. Music

Troy was walking through the hallways at East High. It was only a few weeks until he'd graduate, but that didn't mean his teachers were expecting anything less of him and the rest of his friends. That part made him grumble a bit. He'd been accepted to a university already, it's not like he had to prove anything else, and yet he still had work to do.

He continued walking and was about to walk straight past the doors to the auditorium when he heard a few soft chords coming from what he though was an empty room. It was probably Kelsi just getting some practice in.

Being the good guy that he was, Troy decided to step in for a moment and offer his short friend a ride home. He pushed open the doors and walked into the small lobby. He heard the piano, but the voice that was accompanying it was definitely not Kelsi's.

_Nobody can tell ya_

_There's only one song worth singing_

_They may try and sell ya_

_Cause it hangs them up_

_To see someone like you_

The soft tenor voice was very familiar to Troy, and he decided to just hang in the back for a moment so he could hear some more of the song.

_You gotta make your own kind of music_

_Sing your own special song_

_Make your own kind of music_

_Even if nobody else sings along_

As Troy peeked around the corner, he saw Ryan sitting at the piano, playing slowly, turning what Troy knew to be a faster-paced song into more of a ballad. He listened to the words and everything seemed to click for him.

He and Ryan had been talking about going to college. Ryan wasn't sure if he even wanted to go. At least not right yet. He was struggling with finding his place outside of the high school environment. He had pulled away from Troy for a while, but the brunet never let go.

They talked through things, and even though they had both said their piece and come to a tentative agreement on their relationship, he knew there were some things that still bugged Ryan. Troy thought it had mostly been about the prospect of having a long-distance relationship, but as he continued listening, he realized that it was probably more personal for Ryan.

_You're gonna be knowing_

_The loneliest kind of lonely_

_It may be rough goin'_

_Just to do your thing's_

_The hardest thing to do_

Troy began walking toward the stage where his boyfriend was playing. Ryan was so focused that he didn't even see or hear Troy as he approached. He continued singing.

_But you've gotta make your own kind of music_

_Sing your own special song_

_Make your own kind of music_

_Even if nobody else sings along_

Troy reached the stage and climbed the stairs leading to the stage floor. He was soon standing right behind his blond boyfriend. The pianist didn't even flinch when Troy put his hands over his shoulders; apparently the brunet wasn't as sly as he thought. Instead, Ryan continued singing.

_So if you cannot take my hand_

_And you must be goin'_

_I will understand_

Troy just shook his head and moved to sit next to his boyfriend on the piano bench. As he did, Ryan began the chorus once again, and this time Troy joined in.

_You gotta make your own kind of music_

_Sing your own special song_

_Make your own kind of music_

_Even if nobody else sings along_

Ryan finished out the music and then sat still, not removing his hands from the keys, and not turning to look at his boyfriend.

"I'll always be there to sing right along with you, Ry," Troy said, leaning over to place a soft kiss on Ryan's cheek.

"I know," Ryan replied, finally turning to look at his boyfriend. "I love you."

Troy just smiled and wrapped an arm around Ryan's waist. "Love you, too."

**A/N: So, I've never written a songfic before, but I just couldn't get this one out of my head. The song is "Make Your Own Kind of Music" by Cass Elliot. I hope you all enjoyed this, and if you're wondering, a new chapter of **_**Thank Goodness**_** will be up in the next few days.**


	20. Graduation

Ryan flipped another page of the book he was reading when he felt Troy's fingers start traveling up his sides. He tried to ignore the questing hands at first, but when they passed over his ribs, his ticklish nature took over and he jerked back, trying to get his boyfriend to stop.

"Troy," Ryan whined, squirming atop the comforter on his bed. "I'm trying to read."

"I know," Troy said burying his face in the crook of the blond's neck. "But I haven't got to spend much time with you lately and now we're together and all you want to do is read a book."

Ryan sighed and set the book off to the side so that he could turn to face Troy. "You're the one who wanted to be so involved with this end-of-the-year senior stuff. I didn't make you sign up for it," Ryan said, looking at Troy pointedly.

"You could have signed up with me," Troy said. "Don't you even care that we're graduating in a few weeks? We're leaving behind everything we know."

Ryan closed his eyes and raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I do care," he finally said. "I just don't want to focus on the fact that I'll be losing everything, everyone I love in just a little bit."

Understanding finally dawned on Troy. He knew Ryan still hadn't gotten over the fact that they would be going to different schools next year. Troy never really thought he would actually ever go to the same school as his boyfriend — their interests were just too different to go to the same place — but he had faith that the two of them would persevere and their relationship would only become stronger.

"Ry," Troy said, reaching his arms out and wrapping them around the blond's trim waist. "What are you worried about?"

Ryan just buried his head in Troy's chest, mumbling something incoherent and Troy sighed. "Look," he said, bringing Ryan's face away from his body, "I know you're worried about next year, but you don't have to be."

The blond just gave him a pointed look, telling him that he wasn't buying what Troy was selling.

"I'm serious," Troy said, moving down on the bed so that he was face to face with his boyfriend. "How many times do I have to tell you that you're it for me? You're the only one I care about?"

"But we'll be so far away from each other next year," Ryan said softly. "What if you find someone else?"

"And what if you find someone else?" Troy countered. "Do you think that I haven't been thinking about that? Do you realize how many people give you looks everywhere we go? You're gorgeous and everyone knows it. And then you actually befriend them and they can't help but love you even more. If there is anyone who should be worried it's me."

Ryan scoffed and Troy picked up on it immediately. "Trust me, Ry," he said. "And if the distance is something you're worried about, we're only going to be two hours away from each other. I can still come visit you, and you can come visit me. Everything will be just fine."

Ryan looked as though his walls were crumbling, but Troy could still sense some hesitation and so he decided to seal the deal. "Look," he said, before pulling his boyfriend into a soft kiss. "I love you. Only you. And nothing is going to change that."

His boyfriend finally let out a sigh, signaling that he had finally given into his boyfriend's words.

"Okay," Ryan said. "What do you want me to help out with? And just remember that I don't do manual labor."

Troy laughed and hugged the blond tighter to his body.

**A/N: Well, friends. That's it. I hope the last chapter wasn't too much of a letdown and I hope the wait wasn't too unbearable. **


End file.
